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Siren’s Call: A memoir by Yvette Wroby(Malarkey Publications) is a love story about family and footy, a story which involves both matzo balls and footballs.

Yvette, a 60+ Jewish woman from Melbourne, is a Saints tragic. In 2015, she spent the year criss-crossing Australia – and New Zealand – to attend every St Kilda Football match. Dressed in her trademark red, white and black clothes, glasses, watch, bracelets, earrings and club scarf, she spoke to hundreds of fans about why they supported their club and what it means for them.

Along the way, she finally learned how to kick a football.

“What emerged was that people made choice at a moment in time, a happenstance, something that led to the colour of someone’s footy love. It might have been the pattern on the guernsey, the family, a friend, a connection. It was across the board. It didn’t matter if they lived in the outback or by the sea, in the suburbs or the bush, whether they were men or women, younger or older, or what their ethnic heritage was. People all had a story, a way of explaining why they barrack for the team they do,” Yvette says.

Geography and family (especially her Uncle Bob) made the choice for Yvette.

“I was born in St Kilda and grew up in the nearby southern suburbs. I remember the games at Junction Oval, then Moorabbin before I was a teenager. We grew up with the Saints. In Australia, it was a way of feeling connected to something larger. Though my passion waned for a time during adulthood and while raising my children, it’s come back with ferocity in recent years,” she says.

Ultimately, Siren’s Call is a tale of Yvette’s two families: the family she was born into and the family that is the St Kilda Football Club. It’s a story about the bond between Yvette and her mother Elfie, and a wider one of how her mother’s and father’s families survived the Second World War in France to make a rich, fulfilling life in Australia; of how Yvette’s many aunts and uncles and siblings made her who she is today.

Writing the book was also Yvette’s way of dealing with her mother’s cancer treatment and eventual death.

“My mother loved all the stories I brought back from every game. It diverted her from her suffering, particularly the persistent itch which almost drove her crazy,” Yvette said.

Yvette’s other way of coping was to cook large quantities of kreplach (dumplings), matzo balls, and chicken soup (otherwise known as Jewish penicillin). Recipes are included in the book.

Siren’s Call is about how to live a positive life, about how not become overwhelmed by the harsh realities of life.

“St Kilda is known for not having won a grand final since 1966, back before I was a teenager, though there have been four close calls that I witnessed in person. Lack of success means that supporters lean on each other and make a different footy life, and live in hope. As Bron says in the book, ‘being a Saints supporter builds character but she’d like success at the cost of character’,” Yvette says.

“The Saints scarf has served as an introduction card even when I’ve travelled overseas to the US and Japan. People just come up to me and start chatting. As a result, the club song, ‘When the Saints Com Marching In’, has now been translated into Swedish, Japanese and Punjabi! After most matches, I text my friend and fellow fan, Yoshi, in Kyoto.”

Yvette Wroby trained as a psychotherapist and is an artist, cartoonist and writer. She has written over 200 stories for the Footy Almanac and other football publications. A painting by Yvette is on the cover of the book, as well as throughout. She is currently working on a Women’s Footy Almanac.

Siren’s Call: A memoir by Yvette Wroby(Malarkey Publications) RRP: $25.Available in all good bookstores or from Yvette’s website: http://cartoonswork.com.au

I consider IFD (Israeli Folk Dance) to be a movement: a global movement that unites us in our love of dance, community, Israeli culture, fun and connection to Israel.
Promoting this movement has been a passion and commitment of mine for something like 45 years now.
And God willing, (“Be’ezrat Hashem“), I’m not done yet!

So my comments come from the perspective of someone who is still within the fold and desiring to leave all politics aside.

My thought has always been that the dances we do are a kind of language that has the potential to unite us all – the potential to enable us all to “speak the same language”.
Which means the ability to dance the same dances anyplace in the world that ID is done, regardless of the country language spoken locally.

In earlier times this was much easier to do when a smaller number of dances were all created in Israel and made their way around the world one way or another.
They may have morphed in translation but essentially in the 60s and into the early 70s we were all doing the same dances, thus speaking the same language.

In the 70s though and to this day, we started seeing dances being created outside Israeli as well as within.

In some cases, in the pre-internet era, we saw different dances being created to the same music, without awareness and sometimes concern about who was doing what inside and outside Israel.

The 70s were also about the time of the beginning of the flood of creation of new dances. At earlier times, it was more or less possible for everyone to more or less all know the same dances.

But at some point, there were too many dances being created for it to be possible for anyone, let alone the masses, to stay abreast of everything worthwhile that came out.
The problem has only gotten worse, thanks to the commercialization of ID, the number of people who choose to choreograph, the proliferation of ID camps and workshops, the proliferation of ID sessions, and of course the ability to instantly transmit a new dance globally through the internet.

This is all a long way of saying that it is no longer possible to enable us to globally speak the same ID language.Because we are no longer all able to learn and know the same dances.

As a dance leader (Markid), I do the best I can to create a fun evening for my people, and I do the best I can to introduce the dances that I think they may find when they go to ID in Israel and to other groups around the world.
And at the same time, I try to reinforce what we’ve learned throughout time.
Of course, this is not physically possible because there are too many dances.
And it is also not possible because each group has its own repertoire.
Even in Israel, there is a great deal of variety of which dances are done in which groups. Still I try. But I know that to some extent I am tilting at windmills. (Do you still do Don Quixote?) J

Of course, I do what others do when it comes to selecting new dances. I try to keep track of what’s being taught and requested in Israel and various groups around the world. I network with fellow markidim throughout the world to try to get a sense of what’s working in their groups. I look at a lot of video. And so on….

But there is simply too much worthy material out there and it is not possible to get us all “speaking the same language.”

Please understand that I am not one of those who takes the position that the old stuff was all classic and great, and the new stuff is all cookie cutter and does not have staying power.
In fact, I would say that there are lots of worthy dances being created each year. Just too many of them. Further, I would say that the new dances on average are least as good as the old ones, maybe even better.

I also don’t think that “new dances” are the single cause of what I perceive to be the contracting of our movement. In fact, I believe that new stuff has helped to keep some of the excitement and vibrancy in our world. And to maybe bring in young people. Without it, I believe ID would become stale and stultified.

But the plethora of new dances comes at a cost. It increases our fragmentation.
It creates a barrier to entry both for veterans (who come and go at various times in their lives) and for newbies who have to drink from a fire hydrant in order to become regulars.
For veteran non-regulars it becomes daunting to come back and see so many dances they haven’t learned.
Unless one attends regularly, one becomes a stranger in a strange land instead of feeling comfortable when “coming home.”

I don’t think there is a realistic solution to the problem. I don’t think it is possible or desirable to try impose controls over the creative process. I don’t think it is realistically possible or desirable to create a process to jury which dances get introduced and which don’t. I’m not sure there is even any realistic way to get a consensus of which new dances are worthy of being proliferated and which are not. (I enjoy the “Dances of The Year” surveys but they have their own biases as well.) So that leaves individual session leaders having to try to navigate these waters for themselves.

We try our best to collaborate and share what’s working where, but I am not sure that this has a material impact on the problem.

The best I can come up with is this:
I encourage those who createdances, and those who enable them to be introduced, to do the best they can to select those dances that have the potential to become part of the same language that we can all speak.

This article, by Atida Lipshatz, is an edited version written during the 2016 enormously damaging fire storms throughout Israel.

Israel in Flames – one outlet to release my pain.

It is heartbreaking to see the fires raging through Israel. To see the faces of the people whose homes are no longer, and to read the estimates of the financial damage.

To think about how much Israeli citizens already have to bear and how much more they are suffering.

This is a piece to explain how I haven’t known where to put myself the last week.

Yes I have made donations.
Yes I have thought about those affected when I plaited my Challot for Shabbat.
Yes I have responded to the requests to read Tehillim.
Yes my thoughts have been consumed by the tragedy.
But still my upset is internalised and I can’t find release.

And then last night at my Israeli Dance class I finally found an avenue to express my pain and an outlet for my sorrow.

In our diverse and vibrant community, there are so many ways to engage with our Judaism and/or Zionism.

From shules to museums, from choirs to charities, from theatre groups to youth organisations – we are blessed to have so many avenues for involvement.

In our midsts, we also have a number of schools of Israeli Folk Dance offering multiple classes through the week , and a variety of workshops and camps through the year.

On any given night there are hundreds of dance enthusiasts grape-vining , yemeniting and doing cherkissiyas to the wide spectrum of music that make up the Israeli dance song lists.

There are many reasons people attend Israeli dance classes and there are a plethora of known benefits – social, fitness and even prevention of Alzheimers.

But another strong motivation for some participants, including myself, is that the music and dances allow us to link to Israel in an added dimension. The words, the sounds, the steps – all strengthen our bond to Israel in a positive and fun way.

Over the years, the story of Israel and her people has been chronicled through folk dancing.
Waves of immigration, conflicts, dreams of peace – there is an Israeli dance for every chapter of our narrative.

Last year we learnt a dance to a beautiful song whose words spoke of “Blessing you who enters/Blessing you who leaves.”

During this stressful time for Israel, every time we do that dance, I have tears in my eyes.

Of course, most of the songs aren’t political, aren’t historical and aren’t significant. They keep us connected to the rich culture and multiculturalism of Israeli society and are purely for entertainment.
Some songs have Biblical quotes or words from our prayers, and everyone can internalise them in their own way. Some are relevant to certain festivals or seasons.

But sometimes the songs can be a very effective avenue to keep us connected, and help us cope with what is going on in Israel.

I am not qualified to describe the therapeutic nature of this, or the linking of different zones of our brains when associating emotions with physical activity – but there is plenty of reading material out there.

During the fire emergency, our amazing dance teacher spoke respectfully of the current challenges in Israel and chose 2 dances for us all to dance while thinking of the fires and their impacts.
One song is named “Land of Fire, Land of Water”– and she described the use of seawater dropped from planes to extinguish the fires.

The second is called “I have no other Land” and includes words about the earth burning – and I could not help but think of how much more tragic the fires are because every square mile of Israel’s tiny country is so precious and significant.

My Judaism and Zionism are so integral to whom I am, and I thank the teachers and fellow dance enthusiasts for the opportunity to connect to my spiritual homeland and my ancestral language through this extra outlet.

I invite all readers who think it may be a nice avenue to express their feelings to Israel to join – as well as anyone simply looking for a fun way to exercise and socialise.

This version is edited from the full version that appeared in The Australian Jewish News, December 9, 2016.Atida Lipshatz
Melbourne, Australia

Written by Chris Isaacs, “FLOOD” is a highly praised play that grew from workshops followed by a very successful season at the Black Swan Theatre Company in Perth. This production was its East Coast premiere.

The play follows the story of six young twenty-something friends who embark on an end-of-year, rite of passage holiday in the deserts of Western Australia. Finding a secluded creek they set up camp but encounter an enraged member of the local community, resulting in tragic consequences.

“FLOOD” examines the questions of race, ignorance and the naivety of the young generation and is directed by NIDA graduate, Charles Sanders, who’s worked extensively in New York and with the State Theatre Company of SA and Opera Australia as well as his own theatre company -– House of Sand.

“There are really great plays out there about the indigenous side of the picture but there aren’t really many plays about white people that talk about our relationship to Indigenous culture and our understanding – or lack of understanding, of Indigenous culture and our bias: that’s one of the reasons I was drawn to “Flood” and why we’ve put it on,” Sanders told JAO.

The Old 505 Theatre offered the right opportunity to stage this powerful production covering topical issues. In the upstairs ballroom of Newtown’s 100 year-old School Of Arts, the venue’s intimate space of around 70 seats meant the audience felt closely involved.

Sanders concurs: “Especially in a small house such as this – a piece of theatre is more similar to having a coffee with a friend than it is to a movie; having an actual interaction with someone, it’s really exciting,” he explained. “We spend so much more of our time looking at screens now, I think we yearn to gather.”

The actors agree: “Though small, when it’s filled it feels really alive,” Aaron Lucas, one of the exciting young actors featured in “FLOOD”, told JAO. “You can hear and feel the reaction… especially with the audience that close. You can really have a conversation with them.”

In addition, a clever use of Indigenous artwork and swathes of fabric by NIDA-trained set designer Stephanie Howe succeeded in creating both a versatile landscape and charged atmosphere for storytelling.

* Reach out to other song lovers
* See if you can help with requests on this page. (Scroll down to Reader Queries)
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SEE NEW SONG WORDS
For new song words added to the site in English and other languagesclick here

READER QUERIES

*Reader query:
I am writing you to ask you if it is possible to send me the score (notes)of the song by Sheva:Salaam (Od yavo shalom aleinu)
(for other instruments than guitar and Lyrics )
because some parents at the Jewish school here in Chile are preparing something to the kids for the end of the year school.

*Reader query:
Where can I purchase an arrangement of Ki Haadam Eitz Hasadeh?
I’d like to be able to see and/or hear the arrangement prior to buying it.
I’m fine with a lead sheet with melody and chordsor a fuller setting, too.

Let My People Go by Sam Lipski and Suzanne D Rutland were joint winners of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in the Australian History category.

Judges’ Comments: “Sam Lipski and Suzanne D. Rutland have produced a path-breaking book about the struggles of the Soviet ‘refuseniks’. Replete with new information, Let My People Go draws on a vast array of primary and secondary sources. These include ASIO files, Rutland’s painstaking research on Australia and Soviet Jewry, as well as unfettered access to the massive archive about the Campaign for Soviet Jewry of Lipski’s friend Isi Leibler. …Thoroughly researched and superbly written, Let My People Go is a revealing and important account of human achievement against the odds.”

Aaron Lucas is starring in the new Australian play “Flood” which opens 8 November at the Old 505 Theatre in Newtown (Sydney).

His great grandfather Otto Lucas came over from Germany with a group of other Liberal Jews and founded the Temple Emanuel in Woollahra.
His grandfather Frank was then the first person to have a Bar Mitzvah there.
Then, with Aaron’s great uncle Leo Port (who was the Lord Mayor of Sydney at the time) Frank founded North Shore Temple Emanuel in Chatswood, which is where both Aaron and his (late) father had their barmitzvah.

Aaron grew up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Clontarf, learnt to surf at Manly Beach and Curl Curl and worked his first job in Manly Corso.
His sister, Bec Lucas, began the Beach Walk for Brain Cancer in memory of their dad Tony Lucas who died when Aaron was just 16. The walk is in Manly and happens every year with a couple of thousand people walking from Manly to Curl Curl and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Brain Cancer research.
Aaron is a graduate of the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor’s Degree in Performance.Read about FLOOD and book now

An exciting all-star line-up featured at the recent Jewish Music Festival SHIR MADNESS which was held at its original home in the Bondi Pavilion on September 18.

Multiple Hall of Fame inductee Dave Faulkner(from the Hoodoo Gurus), Steve Kilby from The Church, rock and roll powerhouse (and daughter of Jimmy Barnes) Mahalia Barneswere among a number of Australia’s favourite singers who performed a song by their favourite Jewish composer in one of the festival’s major attractions Song of Songs. In addition, Monsieur Camembert’scharismatic frontman Yaron Hallis combined the beautiful traditional Hava Nagila with “This Love” by US band Maroon Five. Hallistold Jewish Australia Online [JAO] that what he most liked about Shir Madness was:“The wonderful diversity of the music on offer and the quality of it.” Local legend Bernie Hayes also gave a stirring rendition of Laura Nyro’s “And When I Die”.

Other artists included disco party fun band Confettifeaturing Shir Madness site director Wayne Black on drums, ARIA-nominated African-indy folk blended the Miriam Lieberman Trio,meditative new-age artist and ‘DidjeriJew’ Steve Mazabow, Mark Ginsburg’s award-winning Jazz Band, the Sydney Jewish Choral Society – in its 30th anniversary year, and Leonie Cohen with her jazz trio. “I love the spirit of inclusiveness in the festival,” Cohen told JAO. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate and share a wonderfully important and vibrant part of Jewish culture – music!”

Some sessions were too popular and required Full House signs to be placed – including cabaret artist Joanna Weinberg, as well as Sydney-born, now New York based Alexis Fishman – who presented her new show “Boychiks of Broadway”.

Conway and Zygier were patrons of the Sydney festival and ran the Melbourne one last year. “It’s a lot of fun,” Conway told JAO. “It’s a great way for people who want to find particular things that interest them in the one place.” And what’s her favourite piece of Jewish music? “The Hatikvah is beautiful. I really like it. I always find it moving.” Their new album Everybody’s Begging was released on September 2, and they performed it in its entirety at the festival for their many fans.

Another popular item was Festival director Gary Holzman’s multimedia presentation Yid Rock– which revealed an amazing number of Jewish composers behind many of rock and roll’s greatest hits. “The festival showcases a lot of popular music that people don’t realise was created by Jewish composers,” Holzman observed.

Multi-lingual chanteuse Dahlia Dior charmed her audience.“I think having a Jewish music festival is wonderful!” Dior told JAO, whose favourite Hebrew song is the modern and rhythmic Yemenite dance song “Keren Or”.

A special presentation of highlights from the blockbuster hit Atomic – the Musical, co-written by songwriter Philip Foxman with Danny Ginges, was showcased, which featured stars from both the Sydney and US productions with a full stage band. “Music appeals to everyone – across gender, race, language, age and ethnic backgrounds; Shir Madness offers the opportunity to break down barriers,” Foxman told JAO.

Special mention goes to the impressive young talent – including 2016 YouthRock winners the Haze Trio, and Celine Farkash who sung sassy jazz and sweet indie and pop. Talent runs in the family – her cousin Adam Katz, who has performed several times at Splendour in the Grass Festival, presented an energetic fusion of hip-hop, R&B and pop.

It was lovely hearing beautiful Hebrew sung to a blend of rock’n roll and blues with other elements thrown into the mix by Aussie-born Israeli singer-songwriter Simon Shaw and his band from his Jerusalem Hollywood album.

The sultry Brazilbeats band, featuring Julie E on vocals and bass player Phillip Taig brought to life the infectious rhythm of Brazil, while the talents of accomplished musician Rick Melick – who has recorded/performed with John Denver and B.B. King – with his rock/blues/roots band The Self-Made Men, were really on show as was Israeli-born, Australian singer Sam Joole who’s created his own Aussie acoustic rock.

Glenn Cardier& The Sideshow also captivated the audience with a blend of rock and blues, featuring Shir Madness festival director Dave Fester on drums.

The over 30 acts across four stages meant Shir Madness certainly offered something for all musical tastes.

An exciting all-star line-up at upcoming Jewish Music Festival SHIR MADNESS includes multiple Hall of Fame inductee Dave Faulkner (from the Hoodoo Gurus), Steve Kilby from The Church, rock and roll powerhouse (and daughter of Jimmy Barnes) Mahalia Barnes and young Aussie music star Martha Marlow (Qantas’ theme “It Feels Like Home”). They feature in one of the festival’s major attractions Song of Songs – where 15 of Australia’s favourite singers perform a song by their favourite Jewish composer.

Being held at its original home in the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday September 18 from noon to 10pm, 30 acts on four stages means Shir Madness offers something for all musical tastes.

Conway and Zygier are patrons of the Sydney festival and ran the Melbourne one last year. “It’s a lot of fun,” Conway told JAO. “It’s a great way for people who want to find particular things that interest them in the one place.” And what’s her favourite piece of Jewish music? “The Hatikvah is beautiful. I really like it. I always find it moving.” Their new album Everybody’s Begging has just been released, on September 2, and they will be performing it in its entirety at the festival for their many fans.

Another popular item will be Festival director Gary Holzman’s multimedia presentation Yid Rock– revealing the Jewish composers behind some of rock and roll’s greatest hits. “The festival showcases a lot of popular music that people don’t realise was created by Jewish composers,” Holzman observed.

A special presentation of highlights from the blockbuster hit Atomic – the Musical, co-written by songwriter Philip Foxman with Danny Ginges, will be showcased, featuring stars from both the Sydney and US productions with a full stage band. “Music appeals to everyone – across gender, race, language, age and ethnic backgrounds; Shir Madness offers the opportunity to break down barriers,” Foxman told JAO.